*Please note this is NOT a performance… “Drop by ! It’s a fun and relaxed event for both fans and Keith.”

About the Chiller Theatre Expo:

The Chiller Theatre Toy, Model and Film Expo, held twice a year at the Parsippany Sheraton aka the Tara Hotel in April and Oct, is your Premiere Convention for all things Cool! Chiller Theatre, with over 22 years in the business, is your #1 stop for the Best Celebrities, A Dealers room that is second to none, a Rock n Roll Costume Party the Saturday Night of both events and in association with WPIX Channel 11 in NY, we’ve brought back the TV show you know and love every Halloween, namely CHILLER THEATRE movie night! Come check us out! You’ll never be the same again!

Originating in the shadow of 2008’s worldwide financial meltdown and concluding on the threshold of 2012’s presidential election, 3RDegree’s The Long Division takes on all of the most divisive topics in recent U.S. news. First single, “You’re Fooling Yourselves” delivers a pointed dismissal of political extremism, lockstep thinking and pigeonholing. “Incoherent Ramblings” takes jabs at cliche-spewing political strategists from the POV of the strategist! “The Socio-Economic Petri Dish” questions politicians placating their constituents with riches regardless of their means — all served up in engaging progressive rock fashion. Prog rock? Yes-you wouldn’t know it unless you searched the internet or yearly music festivals-but it indeed lives on.

The decidedly American slant of the album’s content was at first a concern to 3RDegree, who currently enjoy a diverse international audience built largely by Internet reviews of their 2008 release Narrow-Caster. “Funny thing is that the art was done by a Brit living in Montreal, Canada,” says Ridgefield Park, NJ bassist and band-founder Robert James Pashman.

“When pitching the cover idea, I hardly had to explain to him about U.S. politics and our two-party system. Because of this, my concerns about the album themes not resonating with our audience abroad was allayed.”

Although 3RDegree’s global popularity is currently on the rise, finding new fans in the early to mid-1990’s was difficult at best. “It became too hard to fill live venues in cover-band-loving New Jersey, even with two albums and a small but dedicated fan-base, so we called it quits for a while,” recalls lead-guitarist and songwriter Pat Kliesch who now resides in California. “But as the Internet was starting to be recognized as an invaluable PR tool for bands like us, we decided to give it another go. It was the right time, too since sites like ReverbNation and Facebook were making it so much easier to get our music heard. That, and it also allows me to continue to write, record and participate even though I’m now thousands of miles away from New Jersey.”

As more and more mainstream bands took to their computers to get their music out, 3RDegree was also using the Internet to prove that prog-rock stereotypes can be overcome. In a musical genre often accused of being cold and soulless, 3RDegree’s spirit shines through in their versatile lead vocalist/keyboardist/songwriter George Dobbs. The Harrington Park, NJ native explains, “This album has a lot of places where I have to sing almost as a political creature. On the first song, “You’re Fooling Yourselves”, I have to be a left-wing firebrand in the first verse and chorus, a right-wing mouthpiece in the second and the voice of reason in the third,” muses Dobbs. “It was a great challenge to pull this off without being preachy or too trite. That’s the risk you take with material like this, but the atmosphere the last few years was just too rich to not delve into.”

“Even though we’re all over the map politically,” comments New Haven, Connecticut-based drummer Aaron Nobel, “creating this album really uncovered some self-evident truths that most people have forgotten in all the rancor. We tried focusing on the things we all hated about the process, and quickly realized there’s no finding a solution if you’re simply defying your opposition.”

While about half the album contains commentary on political malfeasance delivered amidst challenging musical arrangements and memorable melodies, 3RDegree managed to leave their own personal politics out. “While some songs started as screeds from one political point of view by one particular band member, we were very careful to try and present matters as observation rather than opinion,” says Westwood, NJ guitarist Eric Pseja.

“We’re not pundits, but we do hope that our music inspires some political self-reflection.”

The Long Division also represents some musical milestones for 3RDegree. “Our fan base has been encouraging us to expand beyond our earlier works,” explains Pashman, “so we’ve rewarded them with four of our longest songs and some of our most challenging “proggy” instrumental breaks. It’s a pretty thick album, and there’s a lot of nuance to discover on subsequent listens. I guess that’s why some fans who had an early listen via crowd-funding efforts think it’s our best album yet!”

And now the word is indeed out with DPRP.net (The Dutch Progressive Rock Page) weighing in with a “duo review” where The Long Division garnered a 9/10 and 9.5/10 stating: “Overall, we have an album that consists of thoughtfully constructed songs, with intelligent lyrics, plenty of melodic hooks, and accomplished musicianship with enough Prog elements to satisfy the die-hards, and there’s not a weak track to be found. When I approached this album I was worried that the bar had been set too high with Narrow-Caster, and the band couldn’t possibly hope to surpass it. I’m happy to say I was totally, utterly wrong.”

Purpose: To showcase bands of the Progressive Rock genre to their fans in the Connecticut area, as well as providing the opportunity to reach a wider audience in the process. The series will conduct itself with honesty, integrity and professionalism.

My goals: My intention is to treat these world class musicians with the respect and care that they deserve when they perform for the series. I am also extremely sensitive to my fellow fans wants and needs. Their experience at the shows in this series is my ultimate concern. I want to give them a comfortable environment to enjoy this music in.

My inspiration (For the Series): The beauty about the Progressive Rock music scene is we’re all so inter-connected. The bands, cd shops, labels & fans are all woven into this super tight community. You see it at the festivals like NEARfest, ROSfest , Progday, CALProg and on a smaller scale as well. Like my fellow Series promoters : NJProghouse, NEWears & Orion Studios. I trust these people when they put on a show for us and they deliver, just like the bands do.

I’ll never forget my first NJProghouse show at the Metlar -Bodine House in April of 2002. It was The Flower Kings. I walked out at the end of that show with a feeling I never had before at a concert. I went alone as I did most of the NJProg shows back then because I didn’t really know anyone else as passionate as I was about the music (Boy has that changed!). I left with friendships that still remain to this day…So I went alone, but I didn’t leave alone!!!

The whole 2.5 hour ride I couldn’t wait to go back to the next show. So in a sense this series really started way back then. When I lost my job…These guys were there for me. I got into Erik Norlander on a donation. I saw IZZ basically because I was allowed to be a “Staph” member and help Greg Jones brew his incredible Coffees for fans and the band.

The community/ family feeling from the Proghouse is really what brought to the point of starting Prog On The Sound. I dedicate this series to the Fans of this music and the inspiration of the Artists who create it. But most importantly my friends at the NJProghouse, who showed me that normal good people who are a passionate about something can make a ton of memories for friends and concert goers alike!!!

8/28/12 – New York, NY – Doone Records is pleased to announce the release of Real Life is Meeting, the debut solo album by John Galgano on September 11, 2012.

John Galgano is a founding member of art-rock group, IZZ, and has been one of the band’s primary songwriters throughout its career. Real Life is Meeting presents eight tracks varying in styles and instrumentation, from the catchy, art-pop flavor of “Bigger on the Inside,” to the experimental, synth-based “The Only Thing,” to the 19-minute piece “1000,” all the while taking the listener in unexpected directions.

Real Life is Meeting showcases Galgano’s humor, his introspective and confessional lyrics, and his surprising song structures. In turns breathtakingly adventurous and heartrendingly beautiful, this music represents a musician and songwriter unencumbered by any preconceived ideas. The result is a fluid, naked, and daring collection of universal musings set to music – meditations on what it means to be human in the 21st century.

Galgano also recently played bass on Renaissance keyboardist Jason Hart’s new release, I and Thou’s Speak. Galgano has performed with IZZ at many art-rock festivals in the United States and Canada and has played bass for Hart while serving as the opening act during two Marillion Weekends (2007, 2011).

Only about 1 ½ years after the release of their last record “Mammoth”, Beardfish are now back with a new masterpiece. “The Void” will be released on August 27th 2012 in Europe and on August 28th 2012 in the US via InsideOutMusic.y It is darker, heavier and in some parts it even has a bit of a metal edge to it, while still incorporating all that Beardfish and their typical warm retro-sound stand for.The band comments: “We went full-on with this one… We’ve had some trouble in the past to convey our live energy on the studio albums. This is the one that shines through, I think! It’s an album about loss. It’s about love. It celebrates both life and death and the struggle in between to heal the wounds that don’t show and to actually take the step to move forward in life. We’ve been waiting to share these songs with all of you for a while now and we, Beardfish, are really proud to present to you “The Void”